Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/110157
m e n ��� s b a s k e t b a l l purdue crushed in back-to-back road games BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com No. 1 INDIANA 83, PURDUE 55 Feb. 16 S Assembly Hall Top-ranked Indiana jumped out to a 21-8 lead and never looked back in routing its struggling rival. In Purdue���s third straight loss this season and fourth in a row to its intrastate rival, the Boilermakers trailed by double-digits from the 12:14 mark of the first half and never really threatened. And it didn���t seem to matter all that much that Indiana played most of the game without star forward Victor Oladipo, who rolled his ankle in the first half. It was much the same story as it was during IU���s historic 37-point win in West Lafayette a few weeks ago. Purdue turned the ball over too much, giving it away 17 times, and played a leading FLASH FORWARD Game: Northwestern Location: Mackey Arena When: 6 p.m. Saturday Notables: Last time these two teams met, Northwestern led 12-0 right out of the chute and won 75-60. ��� The Wildcats have lost their three games since then and now sit at 13-13, 4-9 in the Big Ten. They have one more game, hosting Wisconsin, prior to visiting Purdue, while the Boilermakers idle for a week. ��� Senior Jared Swopshire, who scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots against Purdue Feb. 2, has been lost for the remainder of the season to a knee injury. ��� Northwestern is last in the Big Ten in rebounding margin; Purdue outrebounded the Wildcats by 20 in Evanston, though it didn���t end up mattering all that much. ��� Reggie Hearn should be a marked man for Purdue after the guard scored 26 in Round 1. Illinois D.J. Richardson led all scorers with 18 points including eight straight from the free-throw line as the Boilermakers never seriously threatened Illinois. role in getting Indiana���s highpowered offense going in the open floor. The Hoosiers scored 25 points off Purdue turnovers. And rebounding, a supposed strength of this Boilermaker team earlier in the season, went south yet again. IU won the boards 37-25 and grabbed 11 on offense, generating several putbacks. Center A.J. Hammons was a to within a dozen at the half, it was the junior who made sure the Boilermakers got no closer in the second half. Key stretch Purdue needed a solid start just to give itself a chance. But in a season of bad starts, the Boilermakers were again put in a compromising position almost immediately. Indiana scored 10 quick points off Purdue turnovers and made six of its first seven three-point shots in jumping out to a 21-8 lead and getting ahead by as many as 19 before halftime. Key stat Purdue���s terrible turnover problem from earlier this season is back, as IU got 25 points off Purdue���s 17 giveaways. It didn���t help Purdue was outrebounded 39-30, either. marked man by IU after scoring 30 points in the first game between the two rivals. Saturday, he missed seven of his 10 shots and finished with just three rebounds in 22 minutes. Key player ILLINOIS 79, PURDUE 59 Indiana���s Will Sheehey Feb. 13 S Assembly Hall came off the bench to score Purdue beat Illinois earlier a career-high 22 points on a in the season by crushing the school-record 9-of-9 shooting. Illini on the boards and simply After Purdue had gotten out-toughing them. GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 22��� ������ 6